Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Their song heard through the sea part 3.5

 

 

“Aren’t they expensive?” The fish started to back out.

 

“Oh, way too much. But that’s not what I’m asking. Have you been to one?”

 

“Never.”

 

“And would you like to?” Her stare pierced right through him. It was as if she was seeing him as a whole, as if she could see through all the shadows and corners. “A couple of mermaids and I are going to have a concert tonight and if you want to, I could invite you there.”

 

It was now, from all times, that he was getting anxious, he had never been into a mermaids’ concert.

 

“I…  I don’t think I could go.”

 

“Oh, really?” The mermaid’s voice changed, she could read him perfectly and knew that something was off. “Why?”

 

“I have some stuff to do!” The fish said nervously.

 

“Like…?”

 

“Important stuff, really important!” His voice got all high pitched.

 

“Like…?” She repeated the question.

 

“I.. uhm… I’ve got swimming to do! You wouldn’t get it, you’re not a fish after all!”

 

“But you just said that you hate swimming on your own.”

 

“And I do, but I have to do it!” The fish laughed nervously.

 

The mermaid chose to approach him, face to face, she stared at him once again and said, completely serious:

 

“I know you are afraid, but I’m not going to let you close yourself like that, like… like an oyster. No one likes those because they never give to anyone the opportunity to really get to know them, they live alone because they are too scared to take the risk of meeting someone and getting hurt in the process, only hurting themselves more.” The mermaid sighed. “Do you really want to live like that?”

 

“I… I don’t know.” When the fish answered, he felt like his voice came out from the deepest part of him.

 

“Well, I think the least I can do is to give you a chance to decide for yourself. Come with me, it’ll do you good!” The mermaid said and took the fish by the fin, as if she was holding her hand, then, they swam together to the place where her concert would be.

 

They swam side to side, quickly, like in some sort of race, they swam and laughed as if they were children playing for the first time. Even if the whole ocean was staring at them, they wouldn’t care, it was such a rare sight to see a mermaid swimming along with a fish. They rode on currents and amidst larger groups of fish, while the sea painted itself with the reddish tones of the sunset, and for the first time in a long, long time, swimming felt again like flying instead of falling.

 

When they got there they were laughing, the two of them were exhausted but it somehow made them feel good, as if that very afternoon some sort of unspeakable connection had been made. The mermaid introduced the fish as her special guest, the other mermaids were surprised, as it was the first time she had done that, they noticed her usually coy self was now shining brighter and a sparkle of confidence had taken into her eyes. 

 

Finally, the show began, and as the mermaids harmonized wonderful voices and sang music that moved the deepest places of the heart, the fish listened in the audience and stood in awe, knowing that his life was just about to change and that was only the start of a new story.

 

 

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you like it!

Keep going?

 

Edited by silverboy123
  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 4

 

Finally, the show began, and as the mermaids harmonized wonderful voices and sang music that moved the deepest places of the heart, the fish listened in the audience and stood in awe, knowing that his life was just about to change and that was only the start of a new story.

It was as if the time had frozen, each second passed slower and all things moved as if they were parts of a living painting, as if the world was conscious that there was art everywhere: what he saw, what he heard, what he felt, it was all too much and unforgettable. Among all the voices, it was the fish’s mermaid the one that stood out the most: all of them were pleasing to hear and harmonious, but hers… she simply was different, richer. A certain depth  and emotional tone decorated her singing, as a bittersweet calling that felt as if only the fish could understand and answer back.

The concert finished after a couple of hours, when the late night came and the moon stood above the sea as an unreachable pearl.

The mermaids posed and received many cheers and acclamations, they stared at the public and smiled beautiful, empty smiles. All except one mermaid, who looked directly at the fish, her eyes seemed to ask him, confidently and even flirty: “how did you like it?”

Even if they were surrounded by dozens of people, it felt so clear as if they were the only ones there, as if the other fish and sealife didn’t even exist in their world. Excited, he approached the mermaid, without even noticing that he was crashing against others. Mumbling apologies, he finally reached her and gave her a mix of a laugh, a greeting, and a panting at the same time.

  • Winner! (+1) 1
Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 5

 

“You were wonderful!” The fish would finally say, gathering up all his courage to play along with the traces of flirting he thought he had noticed.

 

“Me? Don’t you mean the concert?” The mermaid asked.

 

“Oh, the concert was fine of course, but you were… you were simply wonderful. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

 

“You don’t need to say that kind of stuff just to please me…” The mermaid lowered down her head and the fish could even swear that he saw pinkish tones in her cheeks.

 

“And what if I completely mean it?” He continued.

 

“Then…” She smiled. “Go ahead, please.”

 

“I think I could tell you so many things that the day would end over and over again as I tell you everything. ”

 

“I don’t really mind waiting…”

 

The two of them slowly moved closer, their eyes, mutually trapped onto the other, were practically shining as if there was no other place they would rather be. No other words could describe it: there was chemistry. But as they closed upon their newfound world, they were soon interrupted.

 

“Hey! So, are you going?” One of the mermaids swam to them and crossed her arms, desperate. “We’ve been waiting for you, like, forever.”

 

“Yeah, I completely forgot about that…,” the mermaid whispered. She then turned to the fish. “Everytime after we do a concert, there is an afterparty that follows it. It’s fun, a bit noisy, but the atmosphere is nice. Would you like to come along?”

 

“Me?” It was as if the immersion to that mysterious world they had created had just been broken with the mermaid’s friend's sudden arrival. Ironically enough, he felt like a fish out of the water. “Uhm… Yeah, why not?”

Link to comment
9 hours ago, silverboy123 said:

Their song heard through the sea part 5

 

“You were wonderful!” The fish would finally say, gathering up all his courage to play along with the traces of flirting he thought he had noticed.

 

“Me? Don’t you mean the concert?” The mermaid asked.

 

“Oh, the concert was fine of course, but you were… you were simply wonderful. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

 

“You don’t need to say that kind of stuff just to please me…” The mermaid lowered down her head and the fish could even swear that he saw pinkish tones in her cheeks.

 

“And what if I completely mean it?” He continued.

 

“Then…” She smiled. “Go ahead, please.”

 

“I think I could tell you so many things that the day would end over and over again as I tell you everything. ”

 

“I don’t really mind waiting…”

 

The two of them slowly moved closer, their eyes, mutually trapped onto the other, were practically shining as if there was no other place they would rather be. No other words could describe it: there was chemistry. But as they closed upon their newfound world, they were soon interrupted.

 

“Hey! So, are you going?” One of the mermaids swam to them and crossed her arms, desperate. “We’ve been waiting for you, like, forever.”

 

“Yeah, I completely forgot about that…,” the mermaid whispered. She then turned to the fish. “Everytime after we do a concert, there is an afterparty that follows it. It’s fun, a bit noisy, but the atmosphere is nice. Would you like to come along?”

 

“Me?” It was as if the immersion to that mysterious world they had created had just been broken with the mermaid’s friend's sudden arrival. Ironically enough, he felt like a fish out of the water. “Uhm… Yeah, why not?”

This is really good! 

Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 5

 

“Me?” It was as if the immersion to that mysterious world they had created had just been broken with the mermaid’s friend's sudden arrival. Ironically enough, he felt like a fish out of the water, his momentum had been thrown away. “Uhm… Yeah, why not?”

 

“Great!” She let out a small cheer. “You don’t have to be so nervous, you know? Take it easy, let’s try to have some fun, alright?”

 

“Alright,” the fish would say, and soon, he found himself in unknown waters.

 

It was all wild strangers, dancing along to the melody of the sea. Arms like waves, smiles of pearl, the whirlpool-like motion of bodies swaying back and forth… lights, lights everywhere, if she hadn’t had her face right in front of his, surely, he would have gotten lost amidst the noise. 

 

“A little bit too lively, right?” She said to him, fighting to be heard.

 

“What?” 

 

It was impossible to win a fight against such volume. Both the mermaid and the fish tried to strike some conversation once again, but it was too loud and they couldn’t even listen to their own thoughts. When the other was speaking, the only thing they could do was pretend they heard, nodding their heads sheepishly, afraid of agreeing to something that they did not mean.

Finally, fed up with the absurd situation, the fish would take the mermaid by the hand and guide her to the top of a hill of sand, where they could watch the party from above. It was calm and lonely, but the sight was impressive and the music still echoed to their ears in an atmospheric murmur. 

Words were not necessary: all it took was a shared stare, when they started dancing, it was as if they had known each other for a dozen lifetimes. It started subtly, so subtly they didn’t even notice, maybe he started swaying to the rhythm of the ocean, maybe she tapped her fingers against the sand and moved her shoulders back and forth; maybe he swam in circles around her and she spun and moved her hands in a slow dance that resembled the blossoming of a flower; maybe, when they finally got face to face, so close to the other they could see the world through their eyes, they moved closer together and started slow-dancing.

By then, time had already disappeared and there was no space but the one between them, it didn’t matter if hours or minutes had passed by, they continued until the music wasn’t heard anymore. When it was over, their tired bodies simply fell against the sand and laughed.

She leaned, with her back against the earth, and he accompanied her, watching the refraction of the moon against the surface of the ocean, above, in a far different world, the stars shone over them as they bathed in moonlight. 

 

“It’s been… nice,” the mermaid said. It was so hard choosing the right words, words that would further that connection and not destroy the atmosphere.

 

“I don’t think I could ever forget tonight,” he answered.

 

“I don’t think so either…” After a moment of silence, she stood up. “I don’t really want it to end, but… I need to be leaving.”

 

“Wait, let me give you something before you go.” The fish gathered all his courage and stopped her, he knew it: it was now or never.

 

“What is it?” 

Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 6

 

“What is it?” 

 

“I told you I usually spend all my day swimming, didn’t I? Sometimes, I find interesting things as I swim, like small treasures and trinkets. I… I found these a long time ago, but never found anyone to share them with…”

 

The fish then handed to the mermaid something precious: a pair of talismans. Finely crafted, elegant and incredibly beautiful, their reflection shone against the moonlight, bathing both the fish and mermaid’s faces with a gem-like reflection. They both stood in awe, mesmerized, until the fish continued:

 

“I actually found two of these, one of them is blue, the other one is white. Would you hold them both?” And when the mermaid did as the fish asked, he continued. “I like to believe these are actually enchanted, I’ve seen them so many times and I can’t help but to think that they are magical. Maybe that’s why I want to give them to you: it’s a gift I know no one else can give you.”

 

“Enchanted? Magical? What are you talking about?” She asked.

 

“I don’t know, I simply feel it, and if it feels so right then it must be because it is so. I’ve dreamt about this so many times before, finding you, but you were always so far away and your face was all blurry: I didn’t know you yet.”

 

“Why are you telling me all this?”

 

“I know that we will see each other again, it’s as if it was meant to be. I have always believed that these talismans are special, I’m sure they will bring us together. Take the blue one under your hand, hold it tight because it is something precious, then, before you go to sleep, wherever you are, put the white talisman under your head… at least that’s how it happened in my dreams.”

 

In the end, just a look was enough to say goodbye. The mermaid took both talismans and left with the others, the next morning, she parted away. 

 

Many fish were waiting for the mermaids to catch the oceanic current to say goodbye to them, thanking them for the once in a lifetime experience it was attending their concerts; some even dared to go along with them for a while, swimming to her side and trying to keep up with their speed as they moved miles and miles underwater. Little by little, their admirers were slowly left behind and then got back to their homes, but among them, one lasted way more than the rest: it was the fish that fell for a mermaid and tried to keep her company until the very end. But even though in the end he also fell behind, he had already given her what was the most important thing to him, a chance to get together again, or a promise. 

The mermaid looked back many times as she swam with her group, amazed at his determination, with every act it seemed as if the talismans were picking more and more value, so she held them dearly. Finally, once she looked back and found that the fish couldn’t keep their pace, she whispered to herself:

 

“Until we see each other again.”

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 7

And the days, just as tides went by. The mermaid did as the fish had told her, and now, she always had the blue talisman with her. When her friends or anyone else asked her about it, she would answer: “Oh, this? It’s a gift. A precious gift,” on her face, a bittersweet smile. One of those days, as she slept, in her mind appeared the image of the ocean in all its width and vastness, an open blue, a lonely plain where she roamed by herself through miles and miles. Slowly, she understood that it was all a dream, even the idea of it being a vision rose on her mind, and as she slowly moved across everywhere, she understood that the dream was no coincidence or imagination: while dreaming, the mermaid began to see the world through the fish’s eyes. His world was empty, there was nothing upon the paths he swam on, neither fish nor stars nor rocks nor faces; devoid of color, just a deep stroke of a monotonous tone of blue; silent, he made his way without making any sound. She was so close, yer she couldn’t reach him, in that dream her arms couldn’t approach his face and her words fell off, even if she tried to scream them at him: “Can you hear me?” “Look, over here. It’s me!” “I... I miss you.” She simply was part of that dream, the mermaid would never be able to change the fish’s course. Even though she knew it was useless, she gathered her breath once more and shouted at the fish for a last time. “We will see each other soon! Look for me, I’ll look for you..!”

And for an instant, the mermaid thought that she saw the fish reacting to her voice, he moved his head as if trying to locate where those words had come from, he even whispered her name, but before he could find her and she could make him notice her again, the mermaid woke up.

“No.. not now..!” She muttered to herself as she jumped abruptly from her shell-like bed. “I just need to fall asleep again and then... and then...,” but even though she tried, it was impossible for her to dream again. She forced herself to sleep a while more, but she found the

bed cold and uncomfortable. She passed her hands through the sheets and the pillow and adjusted them once again... that’s how she found out that she had lost one of the talismans.
It was as if the world had just lost a piece of itself, the mermaid felt that she had broken a promise and wanted to cry. She searched around every corner of her bed but couldn’t find a single thing, and finally, her distressed cries reached the other mermaids that knocked upon her shell-bed.

 

Edited by silverboy123
  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 8

 

“Are you crying?” One of them asked.

“No.” The mermaid lied, trying to keep up appearances.

“You’ve been making lots of noise. Do you need some help?” Other barged in.

“I’m... I’m good, I just lost something and need to find it.”

“Was it that weird thing that fish gave you a long time ago?” They were all now outside of her bedroom, her nosy partners.

“Yes! Do you have it?!” The mermaid yelled excitedly, and then composed herself, after a long pause. “I mean... yeah, why? Did you see it somewhere?”

“Girl, you were wearing it right before sleeping. I can see you wearing it right now!” They said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and laughed.

“Not that one...” For a second, the mermaid’s hopes had been held up too high. “I’m looking for the white one.”

“Huh, so there were two of them?” One of the mermaids chuckled, they teased one another. “See? Told you, it was not only white or blue, they were both.” And then she told the saddened mermaid. “Who knows, maybe it went back to its owner. You shouldn’t really worry about it, especially today, we have a concert, remember? You even have a solo tonight.”

“I don’t think I would be able to sing right now.” The mermaid apologized and tried to close off her world from everything and everyone, she did not answer to anything else.

The hours passed and passed, it became noon and her concert would begin in a few minutes, but she didn’t plan to go, it did not matter to her... Then, a series of thoughts crossed her mind: what if the fish actually came to the concert? What if among the crowd, once again, she would see his gaze and immediately spot him between hundreds of people, rooting for her like in the first concert he attended?

No, that was impossible, he didn’t even know where she was... Many, many miles held them apart from the other. Why was it now that she felt so empty? That the conversations with her

friends were pointless and she felt lonely wherever she went? Was making one friend such a dangerous act that it would provoke her feelings like that all the time?
Or maybe, she thought, uncovering her mind, that what she felt for the fish was something that went further than a simple friendship...

  • Winner! (+1) 1
Link to comment

Their song heard through the sea part 9

 

That was it, the true voice of her feelings! She realized things that she was unable to say out loud, she felt sensations that were thought forgotten and left far away, but it now all came to her. Her heart seemed to burst out of her chest as she made her way to the mermaid’s concert. She arrived, right on time, as the others harmonized and she picked up the tempo: she took a deep breath before closing her eyes and starting her solo, the most sincere song she had intoned, a call to the true partner she had found and didn’t want to let go of. Through her mind went by the many conversations they had on the brief time they had met, the flirting and the pondering alike, the times they found themselves surrounded by people and the moments they had alone. It was the most beautiful song that the sea had ever witnessed, and after her solo, only silence remained. When her solo was done, the mermaid opened her eyes and saw an astonished multitude, she examined every mouth-opened face and to her disappointment, she didn’t see the fish there... Even though the round of applause came and she was showered with praise, she kept looking and looking... until she saw something: a white shimmering to the distance. That vague spark could belong to a piece of metal or simply the reflection of the moon, but the mermaid knew better, she wanted to believe that was the fish’s lost talisman. As she realized her feelings and what she wanted the most, she understood that unlike the other mermaids she wasn’t aiming for fame that would pose a thousand eyes upon her, but to the one pair of eyes that could see her and really notice her. That and much more was what the fish meant for her, so she decided to throw herself into luck and leave the concert at once, jumping and pushing her way through the people to reach the white sparkle from afar.

Every stare passed right through her, their hands couldn't touch her, their voices weren't heard, as if the mermaid had entered a new world upon realizing the weight of her feelings. Soon, she found herself swimming in the nothingness, it was all so dark and a strange fear grabbed her by the heart, but she kept swimming. She thought of the fish and his words and realized the great difference between simply moving and walking towards something.

There it was again, against the dark, that white spark shimmered and seemed to call her. Letting go of everything, she kept chasing it... and at one point, the light stopped, it disappeared.

"What..?" The mermaid felt her insides shattering. "Was it all an illusion..? Am I... am I crazy? After all these things, I am... alone."

And once again, the talisman shone, right in front of her, it dangled from the fish's head.The mermaid stood speechless, as if the fatigue of all that desperate chase had took toll to her body, she fought for her breath, but was unable to take her eyes away from the fish. What would it happen if she blinked and he disappeared, this time for good?

The fish started to laugh, he really didn’t know why. Maybe it was out of nervousness, maybe it all came out of his deepest joy, maybe he had no words to say. The mermaid joined his laughter, it was so freeing, it was such a relief. They stared at each other and smiled, they touched their talismans and understood they had brought them together.

“Just as in my dreams...” The fish said. “It came to me, that’s when I knew I had to search you. From afar, I saw your talisman sparkling and knew it was you, I had to follow it.”

Through his mind many thoughts were running so clearly the mermaid was able to see them from his eyes. Her mind was an excited mess, too, but she understood what to do; with no words she told everything: their lonely pasts, fateful encounter and future. And the fish understood how her face said it all.

“I’ve found you.”

 

The End.

 

Thank you for going through this journey with me!

 

  • Winner! (+1) 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...